Vulnerability
by Carlafanx
Summary: ANOTHER one-shot, based on 16th May 2014 but with a twist.


**_Different take on the 16th May 2014. (Peter only slept with Tina once.) _**

"I'm warning you, don't push me." Peter speaks scarily low.

"What are you going to give me a slap? Are you going to show me whose boss?" Carla questions.

"Carla!" He snaps.

"Go on then do it!" She shouts, tears erupting down her face. "I've had worse done to me, haven't I?"

"I need a drink!"

"Peter no you don't! You go now and you would've ruined everything! You're stronger than this baby!" She cries.

"No I'm not. I-I'm not strong." He stutters, getting increasingly angry and he shakes from alcohol withdrawal.

"We can fight this Peter." She reassures him.

"No!" He tells pushing her back slightly so she hits the wall.

"S-Sorry. Carla, I'm sorry. But I've got to go." He adds, looking to his pregnant wife whose staring back at him in shock.

"Peter no!" She says moving to the door however Peter still manages to open it. "Please."

"I need a drink." He repeats trying to move Carla's arm out of the way as she seems to have got in the way of the open door again.

"MOVE!" He screams, anger exploding within.

It all happened so quick.

He doesn't mean for it to happen, he just wanted a drink and she happened to get in the way...

Because she loves him, so much.

As Carla tumbled down the flat stairs loudly, Peters sure she must've broken something.

There was loud bangs whilst Carla's spinning, hitting parts of her body and then ends sprawled on the small floor near their front door.

"No..." Peter whispers breathlessly; a hand going through his hair in distress. "No, no."

She's not moving.

He tries to move to save his beloved wife and unborn baby but he's stuck where he is at the top of the stairs.

His shaking has increased and he now feels the need to drink a million times more.

What if he's killed his baby? No.

Eventually, after a few seconds of shock Peter finally sprints down the stairs where Carla's body lay.

She had a strand of hair covering her face although you can tell she's extremely pale with bruises already starting to form all over her face and arms.

"Carla?" He mutters, moving the hair behind her ear.

Receiving no response, Peter let's out a sob he'd been trying to contain before repeating her name.

He now realised that he must've called serious damage if Carla isn't responding. So, he checks her pulse and sighs in relief by the strong beat it was relaying.

"Come on Carla, please wake up baby." He whispers.

Calling an ambulance doesn't even cross his mind, he's so wound up still and extremely vulnerable.

All he can seem to think of is the fact he might've killed his family or the fact he's willing to kill himself for a drink.

He sees blood cascading down one side of her face as he gently stroked her hair and panics even more, if that was even possible.

Why couldn't they just be a normal husband and wife? A happy loved up husband and wife who were expecting a baby, so excited to have a mixture of both of them come into the world. Looking at bigger houses for their growing family, him getting her any foods she craved or him rubbing her stomach when she had aches and pains.

But no, instead he's having an affair with a young girl and being an alcoholic whose just pushed his pregnant wife down the stairs.

Peter knew this wasn't him, this wasn't who he was. And Carla was the only other person who knew that.

She knew the real him and loved him for it.

"Mm.." a croaky moan is heard.

"Carla? Carla, don't move." He nervously mumbles to her, one hand on her stomach and the other softly going through the locks.

Carla frowns slightly, breathing out heavily and moving her legs slightly so there curled inwards, knees towards her stomach. It looks like she's in pain.

"Oh I can't do this." Peter tells himself as tears run down his cheeks. He can feel the guilt taking over, he can feel the need for alcohol. "I'm so sorry Carla."

"Ow." She whispers very quietly, so much that it's barely audiable. But, she moves her bruised hand slowly to her stomach and lays her palm flat upon the small bump that covered their child.

"Y-you're in pain." Peter cries. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"The...baby." She cries also, the realisation hitting her that something's actually wrong.

"I know, I can get you help. One sec." He stands up and freezes...

There's a pool of blood surrounding Carla's legs.

He doesn't want to say anything, it'll worry her more.

"Peter...my shoulder hurts." She quivers.

"I- I'll get help."

"Peter, no. Don't leave me." She begs weakly. "I need you."

"I'll be back." He opens the door slightly, so it doesn't touch Carla but so he can escape.

"Peter please!"

But he runs out anyway.

Because he's weak.

Once he's in the fresh air, he leans against the wall and takes deep breaths.

He stares at the Rovers, maybe he should go get Michelle like planned. Or maybe he could get a bottle of vodka from Dev's.

"Dev, bottle of vodka." He shakily says once in the shop.

"Sorry I can't do that." Dev replies sternly.

"WHY NOT!" Peter yells.

"You know why. Now do me a favour and leave my shop, go see Carla."

"Oh get stuffed!" He shouts, grabbing vodka and sprinting out of the shop before Dev can stop him.

"Peter!"

Peter runs and runs until he bumps into someone.

"Move!" He snaps forcefully.

"Eh Peter? Are you alright?" Tina, who he'd ran into questions.

"Oh not you as well."

"Peter I just want to help. You don't need that." She tries to reassure him.

"Carla tried to help too! But look how that ended up! You're all better off without me, just let me drink myself to death. I'm going." He sniffs in tears.

"Woah hold on, what's happened to Carla." She grabs him. "Peter what have you done?"

"I've hurt her, the baby. I've got nothing left." He completely breaks down.

"The baby? She's pregnant?" Tina gasps. "Show me where she is Peter."

"I'm going!" He runs away.

"Peter no!"

Tina stares ahead, she needed to go find Carla. She looks to her right and notices the door to the flat had been left open ajar.

Jogging over she tries to open it further but their was something in the way so she pokes her head in and sees Carla on the floor.

"Carla!" She gasps. "Carla it's Tina, can you hear me?"

"Mm." She groggily says. Struggling to stay awake, so instead half opening her eyes and closing them regularly.

"Let me call an ambulance." She gets her phone out.

"Where's...Peter."

"He's gone to get help." Tina lies.

"It really hurts." Carla moans.

"Carla tell me where it hurts." The younger brunette asks.

"My head, shoulder and...my stomach." She cries. "What if something's wrong with the baby?"

"Nah Carla if that babies even half of you, it's strong." She reassures Carla, But She wasn't sure.

"I want Peter. He can't have a drink."

"He won't, he loves you too much." She reassures her.

"The booze. No, no."

"Carla!" Rob shouts, followed by Michelle crouching down. "What's happened?"

"She fell down the stairs." Tina replies quietly.

"Fell? Or pushed?" He raises his eyebrows.

"Rob! Don't be so stupid." Tina snaps.

"Peter. Peter." Carla repeats, concerning Michelle even more as is seemed to her Carla might have concussion with the confusion.

"Will you guys just shut up! Carla needs us Rob. And thanks Tina but you can go now." Michelle piped up, trying to stop them from arguing.

"Where's Peter?" Carla frowns.

"I just told you Carla. He's getting help." Tina says.

"Chelle...it hurts." Carla cries.

"Don't worry darlin' helps on its way." Michelle mumbles, stroking her hair.

"It wasn't his fault..." Carla whispers.

"What wasn't whose fault Carla?" Rob asks.

"He-He only wanted a drink."

"Oh I'm gonna kill him!" Rob shouts.

"Rob no!" Tina yells as Rob storms off. "Carla needs you!"

"Tina go get him." Michelle tells her.

"What's going on Chelle?" Carla murmurs.

"Nothing. Don't worry." She replies, biting her lip as she continues to watch Carla hiss in agony.

In town, Peter finds himself in an alley way next to a supermarket with a bottle of vodka in his hands. He wipes a stray tear as he thinks about what his wife is going through right now. She wanted him. She called for him as she was absolutely petrified and vulnerable...but he walked away.

Carla deserved someone better than him. He couldn't put her through this over and over again; not their baby. They, and Simon both deserved so much more. Why fight when he knows for a fact nothing will work the same way again?

He's ready to drink himself into oblivion, he doesn't care anymore.

He doesn't even care if he died.

_5 years later... _

"Daddy...wake up!" A little girl giggles, jumping rapidly on her fathers bare chest. "Daddy!"

"Urgh, Liv what are you doing awake?" He groans as he was never a morning person.

"It's sunny outside! We go to the park?" He asks sweetly.

"I don't know love, you'll have to ask mummy? Do you know where mummy is?" He rubs his eyes and sits up.

"She's making breakfast, I'll go get her!" Little 5 year old Olivia smiles, bouncing off the bed to go fetch her mum.

Olivia was a perfect combination of both Carla and Peter. She has adorable dark brown curls which Carla had always put in two pig tales. She had her mothers lips but looking exactly like her father; with the brown orbs.

"Heya beautiful, is daddy awake?" She questions softly.

"He is now." Olivia chuckles, a cheeky grin spread across her face.

"You're so cheeky."

"I know she is." Peter grumbles, entering the kitchen.

"Morning baby." Carla greets her husband.

"Morning. Are we going to the park then today?"

"Yes we will, once we've eaten and got changed."

Later that morning; Peter, Carla and Liv are all resting in the park. Well, Liv was doing what any other 5 year old would do, going through climbing frames and sliding down slides whilst Peter and Carla lay on the picnic blanket near by watching.

"I can't believe we've made it here Peter." Carla sighs after a minutes silence.

"The park? It was only a 10 minute drive love." Peter narrows his eyes.

"No, stupid." She says. "Us. With a loud, bright daughter and happily married."

"With another baby on the way." Peter rubs her large stomach.

"Yeah...you're 5 years sober too." She points out.

"I honestly thought 5 years ago was the end. Not just the end of our marriage but the end of me. I thought there was no coming back from what I did-..."

"Shh baby. It's all in the past. You didn't mean to do it did you? It's your addiction, not you." She reassures him.

"But I still did it."

"Yeah But are we still suffering? Olivia is perfectly fine, as am I." She smiles.

"I know but when I saw you on that floor Carla." He stutters emotionally.

"Sweetheart, why are you thinking all about this now? Today's a happy day."

"I don't know, just reminiscing I suppose."

"Seriously though Peter, it's forgotten. I was discharged from hospital only 2 days after, still pregnant. Olivia was absolutely fine all tucked up in there."

"But then with Tina-..." He sighs.

"We don't talk about her. It was a mistake."

Things got even worse for the couple after Carla's accident. No one could find him for the next 24 hours, Carla was in hospital with a dislocated shoulder and concussion and the love of her life wasn't to be seen.

When he was eventually found though, that's when things got even worse, if that was possible. Peter was barely breathing. They rushed him into hospital and thankfully just about managed to save him.

After a few days in hospital himself, he went into rehab and really tried hard to work on his recovery. But he could only properly get better if he was honest. This meant telling Carla about his one night stand with Tina.

Once being in rehab after a certain amount of time and once the staff think you're strong enough, you're aloud to contact loved ones. He apologised over and over again to her about the fall and then...after much hesitation, he told her about that night.

She was heartbroken to say the least.

They were starting a family and this had to happen to top everything off. Now she was struggling massively and went to stay with Michelle as she craved a drink, but had too be strong for unborn Olivia.

After months of not talking about anything other than the baby, Peter left rehab just in time to see his daughter entering the world.

Seeing his face made all Carla's hatred disappear instantly. It'd been months since she found out and she couldn't ever forgive him, but she could forget what happened.

It was a mistake.

So when Olivia was around 2 months old; they agreed to try officially as a couple again. They done marriage counselling, were completely honest and thoughtful with eachother and things paid off.

5 years later, they couldn't be happier.

_**This ONE-SHOT I started writing was 5 months ago and was meant to be fully based on carla falling down the stairs but I just got the urge to add the future bit on, not sure whether that was a good idea? A kind of pointless story really but hope you enjoyed it.**_

_**Leave reviews xxx **_


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